Later Lectures

Julian Halsby

At the 1905 Salon D’Automne Louis Vauxcelles saw a group of highly coloured paintings by a group of artists that so shocked him that he described them as “Wild Animals” – “Fauves”.

This group included Matisse, Derain, Vlaminck, Braque, Dufy, van Dongen, Marquet. The Fauves painted landscapes, seascapes, portraits, nudes and dancing figures, a wide range of subjects. By 1910 the Fauves had gone their own ways some achieving great fame and others less so. This was a wonderful period of art, canvases full of life, colour, brilliance and bravura.

John Stevens

Before the British arrived in India, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Emperors. The stunning buildings and gardens they constructed from the 16th-18th Century have left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape. This lecture will take you on a tour of some of India’s greatest buildings from the Jama Masjid in Delhi to Taj Mahal in Agra, to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore and provide insight into the historical contexts and colourful personalities involved in their construction.

Ian Swankie

Best known for his outlandish appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire, Sir Grayson Perry is now a core part of the art establishment. This lecture will examine his often controversial works of ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints and the exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions plus the unique character inside those flamboyant frocks.

Jeremy Mainwaring Burton

Having had access to the jewels designated Heirlooms of the Crown and with a spectacular collection of her own, the Queen Mother had so much jewellery to choose from over the course of her long life that it would be almost impossible to describe it all. This lecture will chronicle her passion for jewels by concentrating on a selection of items which are of particular gemmological and historic interest …. and have an intriguing story attached.

Stuart Harvey

The Borghese Gallery houses what is arguably one of the greatest collections of art in the world. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipio Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, amassed an incredible collection of ancient sculptures and renaissance art, including Titian, Botticelli and Raphael. He also commissioned statues from Bernini and art works by Caravaggio and other contemporary artists of the day. Over the years the Borghese family have added to the collection all in a magnificent building designed by Cardinal Scipio solely for his collection.

Until 2019, when it was brought to Sarah for cleaning and restoration, the whereabouts of one of Constable’s finest paintings, a portrait of his neighbour in Charlotte Street, Mrs Emily Treslove, was unknown. Following ‘the discovery’ of Emily’s painting its companion, a portrait of Emily’s husband, Thomas Treslove came to light. Along with the portraits Sarah discovered Emily had written a diary and Sarah’s lecture will reveal the story of wealth, vanity, fashion and politics of the ‘nouveau riche’ in the early 19th century

Lecturer: Sarah Cove

Sarah Cove ACR, FIIC, FBAPCR is an Accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with almost 40 years’ experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She lives and works in Falmouth, Cornwall, but also has a permanent base in London. As a conservator, she specialises in British portraiture, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. Alongside her conservation practice, in 1986 Sarah founded the Constable Research Project and she is now the leading authority on Constable’s oil painting materials and techniques. She has appeared in several TV programmes for the BBC notably Constable in Love with Andrew Graham-Dixon and twice on Fake or Fortune? where she was instrumental in the discovery of 3 ‘lost’ Constables. Other research interests include Tudor and Jacobean Portraiture, the 19th century Newlyn and St Ives schools and early-to-mid 20th century British painting generally. She has been a lecturer for The Arts Society since 2003 and is a very experienced speaker having lectured independently since the 1980s at major public venues across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Her presentations are lively and enthusiastic as she speaks without notes with an inimitable passion that comes from presenting her own work and research with wonderful images. isabled people in hospitals, hospices, and specialist care centres and nursing homes. With her very varied repertoire and often resplendent costumes, she has delighted numerous audiences throughout the UK